Bug in Propage 1.31-2.0a
10 messages in this thread
We found a bug in PPage, all versions. This is something that has been
driving us crazy for years (literally!). The problem is this, PPage loses
track of our bit mapped graphic images. We are using commercial clip art,
which has several images on a page. We use the scale and crop features to
zero in on a particular image on the page, and change its size to the size
we need. What happens is when we print the document, we get the wrong
graphic!. Ppage has chosen a different file for input, and applied the
scaling and cropping intructions we set up. In other words, we get the
right part of the page, scaled to the right size, but it's using the wrong
d*mn page! Of course, this doesn't always happen, but it's almost
guaranteed that sometime in the production of our newsletter it will happen
at least once. I have spoken to Gold Disk a couple of times about this, but
they haven't done anything. This problem goes back as far as release 1.3,
1.31, 2.0, and 2.0A.
Having said all this, we have some good news. We always thought that the
problem was occuring when we were saving the document, but it turns out
that the problem occurs on the *load*, not the save. Because we have always
had trouble with bit mapped graphics, we always load our bit mapped
graphics when loading a document, so we can see if the images are loaded
correctly. You can tell the images are going to be screwed up if it takes a
long time to load the images. Accidently, we found that if the images are
screwed up, then just re load the document, and chances are it will load
correctly the second time.
I mention this for 2 reasons, one: so anyone else who may be having this
problem can use our solution, and two: now that we have a better idea of
where the problem is occuring, perhaps Gold Disk can fix it (Are You
Listening, GD?)
Gene
could this be happening due to a memory shortage?? I have a feeling that
PPage needs at least one MEG of RAM with 2 or more being better.
Mike
I don't think it's memory, this happened when I only had 3 megs, and now I
have 5 megs, and if that ain't enough, then Gold Disk needs to start
writing smaller code.
Gene
Mike,
In my 3 years of daily PP use, I only had ONE MB. In my experience, the
only memory shortage problem that doesn't report as such is bad text
rendering.
Malcolm
I have had some strange performance in PPage 2.0. It happens when I try to
send the document to print. Sometimes I get a full print dialoge box and
sometimes I get a box with no click requestors there (no OK or CANCEL
gadgets) to use. I have also had problems setting the screen to interlace
and then getting it to save the screen with the document or even saving the
screen type as a permenant feature of the boot up.
Mike
Mike,
I've had some odd problems with PP but not the kind that were talked about
above. I'm NOT using 2.0.
I run it on a vscreen (800×900) and printing to dot-matrix is _almost_ a
guaranteed guru. I _assume_ I'm gonna guru when I print to dot-matrix. If I
bypass the vscreen and use a normal size custom screen, it doesn't guru.
But it also doesn't come up in interlace. I'm almost certain that it used
to, so there are things about it I don't understand. 🙂
Malcolm
I hate to plead rust but I've been using nothing else but my NEC Postscript
LC-890 here since I got it in 1989. My dot matrix and color inkjet just
seem to be sitting around a lot. I have been looking longingly at a color
Postscript printer. For my non-PS amiga use I just change the NEC's driver
to laserjet and everything else runs fine.
Mike
Gene,
FWIW, in 3 years of using PP on a daily basis, I never encountered such a
problem. Not even once.
Malcolm
Go figure.. This problem happens to us every month, every newsletter,
without fail. I sometimes suspect that the data file is the problem as we
dont' start a new document every month, we just modify last month's. Hmmm,
come to think of it, we did try starting from a new document once, and the
problem was not solved.
I wish I knew how you managed to avoid this problem, and we would do the
same.
Gene
It si not how he managed to avoid it. It is "How you managed to aquier it."